Chapter Text
The first body was easy to spot, laying in the open on his back. He still had his clothes on, at least, sturdy-looking boots catching your eye with a twist of envy.
The one beyond him was a little harder to spot, in the shade and wearing dark clothes also, so he blended better.
Pulling Bessie to a halt, you slid down and patted her side, murmuring for her to stay put. A long stick was easy to find, and you approached the first man with caution. His chest rose and fell slowly - still alive. You took a moment to observe him while he was out. Thick, short hair, muttonchops, nose charmingly crooked. Hm. Hopefully he wouldn’t die so fast as the last one.
Crouching down a little ways away, you used the stick to poke him. Some people, you’d learned the hard way, came up swinging.
This one didn’t. He inhaled sharply once, after two pokes, his eyes snapping open. They were the most vibrant blue you’d ever seen on a person.
“What–?” he started to ask, head turning towards you.
“Easy,” you murmured, holding your hands up in a show of good faith. “I’ll answer all your questions, I promise. Here. Have some water.” You held out a skin to him, watching him drink. He didn’t guzzle it, at least, taking two swallows before handing it back.
“Where am I?”
“I’ll answer all your questions,” you reiterated, looking beyond him to the second man. “But first I want to see if that guy is still alive.”
He was on his feet faster than you would have expected, taking a couple staggering steps before finding his stride. “Simon,” he murmured, taking a knee next to the other man. “Oi. Simon.”
Simon woke with a low groan, and you handed the water skin to the first man. You could see two more in the bushes, one of them already stirring on his own.
“You know those two, then?” If they did… a whole group. It had been a long time since you’d seen a whole group dropped in together.
“Johnny,” Simon rasped.
“And Gaz,” the first one said, a hint of relief in his tone. “C’mon, boys, on your feet now.” It took him astoundingly little time to have all of them on their feet. You stood back a little, impressed and a little intimidated.
They were all big men, clearly strong. You did have Bessie and a weapon, but you preferred not to use them if you didn’t have to.
“Now,” the first one said, turning back to you. “Where are we?”
“Welcome to the Island.” You smiled wryly at them. “Don’t ask me how you got here, because I don’t know. I woke up here, same as you lot did. Come on, I’ve got food and more water back at base.” You turned away from them, walking back to Bessie.
“What the fuck?” One of them, Gaz you thought, exclaimed upon seeing Bessie.
“I know,” you soothed. “She looks scary, but she won’t hurt you. She listens to me.” You patted the big Trike’s nose, grinning when she rumbled affectionately at you.
“That’s a triceratops.” Gaz was staring at her, unblinking.
“Oh, that right? I hadn’t noticed.” You grinned, though, to take the sting out of your words.
“How…?” He trailed off, clearly uncertain how to even phrase that question.
“I don’t know,” you answered with a little sigh. “Come on, keep up. I’ll explain on the way.” You whistled a short note to Bessie, for her to follow you, and started walking. All four men kept up with you easily.
“Alright. Well. Like I mentioned, this is the Island. It’s… I don’t know how it’s possible. But it is. Yes, she is a triceratops. No, she’s not the only dinosaur here.” You paused and licked your lips, glancing at your new companions. “This place makes very little sense, honestly.”
“How did you know to find us?” That was the first man again.
“I didn’t. Today’s a gathering day, so Bessie and I were just out gathering resources.” You nodded back to the laden bags on Bessie’s sides. “Found you lot by accident.”
“You’re acting like this is normal,” the Scottish one, Johnny you were pretty sure, said, eyeing you warily.
You huffed soft amusement at him. “I woke up here, same as you,” you answered, smiling a little. “Someone took me in then, showed me the ropes, same as I’ll show you. And you lot aren’t the first I’ve found and taken in. Happens pretty regularly.”
“What happened to the rest?” Gaz sounded like he almost didn’t want the answer.
“They died.” You swallowed back the memories that evoked. “Not too far from base now.” You glanced at each of them and gave your name. Which is how you learned some of them had other names - Ghost and Soap, particularly. The first one you’d woken was Price.
“What is this place?” Soap asked, looking around as you walked.
“Not really sure,” you answered, pausing a moment to look around. Just in case. Never hurt to be on the lookout for predators. “Some forgotten island a mad scientist took over? Some kind of social experiment? Dunno. Doesn’t really matter, anyway.”
“Are you alone here?” That was Price, those eyes fixed on you.
“I’m the last of my tribe, yeah.” You shrugged. “But there are other tribes here. I’ll explain more later, if you want. We’ve got to get up here, then around to base.” You led the way, long used to the trek as you headed up the hill.
Your base was in a nice defensible location, backed up to a steep drop with a solid row of spiked fencing keeping dangerous things out. You pulled open the gate for them, ushering the men through first and then guiding Bessie through.
“Home sweet home,” you told them with a little smile. It was better than it had been when you’d arrived - you now had several crop plots and berry bushes, a nice paddock set up for Bessie and Watermelon, a separate paddock for Ripper, and a house with plenty of room, even with four new clan members.
“You did all this?” Soap sounded impressed.
“Goodness no,” you laughed, taking one bag off of Bessie and setting it aside. “No, I’ve had help, most of the time. Some of this was established when I arrived here, but I added the crop plots.” You took off the second bag and ushered Bessie in with Watermelon. “Food first, I’m guessing?” You started for the house without actually waiting for an answer, hauling one of the bags with you. The other could stay outside for a while.
The four were quiet as they looked around, something for which you were grateful. It gave you a chance to debate your options. You didn’t have enough stew for five people, but you did still have plenty of berries, and it wouldn’t take long to make up a batch of quick rolls. It wouldn’t be a feast, but it would tide them over.
“You said you don’t know how we got here,” Price said, deliberately making noise as he walked closer to you.
“Right.” You focused on grabbing ingredients for the rolls, sparing him only a quick glance.
“How long have you been here, then?”
You actually had to think about it for a moment, head tipped to one side. “Seven hundred and twenty… two days. No. Twenty three.”
“Almost two years?” Gaz asked, clearly shamelessly eavesdropping.
“Almost.” You frowned down at the dough, adding a little more water to it.
“And you’ve been doing this the whole time?” Price made a vague motion to the base.
“Pretty much.” You shrugged, giving the dough one more stir before you separated it out. “I’ve traveled, of course. Read through all the notes I could find. Learned the skills needed to survive here.” You shrugged again. “That’s how it goes here. I’ll be happy to teach you all as well.”
Price blew out a slow breath. “You haven’t found a way off the island.”
“Of course not.” You rolled your eyes. “Nobody has. I don’t even know if there is a way off the Island. I mean, there must be, the supply drops come from somewhere, but I’ve never seen a plane or anything.”
“There are supply drops?” Soap’s turn to eavesdrop.
“Of course.” You transferred the rolls to a baking stone, setting them carefully in the oven. Not as nice as a modern one, of course, but you’d only burnt a few rolls before figuring out how to make it work. “Daily, in different areas. I’ve got a big map up on that wall.” You pointed and grinned at the subsequent migration. “Home is the big blue dot.”
More leisurely, you strolled over to stand behind the men, observing the map. It was a complete map, with bases marked accordingly.
“What’s this, then?” Soap pointed to a green marker out on the plains.
“The horse tribe.” You rolled your eyes. “Pricks. They’re not particularly friendly.”
“I take it they use horses,” Gaz said, flicking a grin at you.
“Yeah. Exclusively. They will trade for carrots, at least, so they can be reasonable.” You shrugged. “Not often, but it happens.”
“And here?” Ghost pointed to the red dot up between two mountains.
“The Painted Ladies.” You looked away from the map. “They’re… a little zealous. Have no use for males, of any species. They use the red berries to make a dye and mark everything with it - themselves, saddles, clothes.”
“That it?” Price this time, examining the map more closely.
“I haven’t checked in a while, but there used to be a tribe down here, between the base of this mountain and the swamp. No idea why they chose there, but it’s not my problem.” You shrugged. “Oh! And hypothetically there’s the sky tribe, built mobile bases on a few quetzal, but I’m not convinced that’s real.”
You left them to continue examining the map, checking the food and tapping your fingers against the table. Still didn’t feel like enough, not with four of them. So you pulled out an extra slab of meat from the preserving bin, slapping that in a pan with some herbs and a few potatoes chopped up. There. That’d do.
“There are plates and cups in that cupboard,” you said, pointing, hoping one of them would take the hint. “If you wanna wash up, that’s out back. Just don’t drink the water.”
“On it,” Gaz said, moving to get the plates and cups. He even found the utensils with a little poking around. Good man.
Dinner was… stilted. You had gotten accustomed to being alone again, and they were still adjusting. Not that you blamed them - you’d been in shock the first three days you’d been here. They were doing better than you.
Then again, they all knew each other, so that probably helped. And, honestly, they looked like they were military. Big guys like them, combined with the way they’d looked at the map and the way they carried themselves… Pinged as military in your mind. You’d seen their type before.
You took the dishes out back to clean, waving off their offers. You needed a bit of quiet time to yourself.
Four new people, all at once. A group. You’d only seen pairs come in before, not a group of four. Honestly, it made you wonder all over again about whoever was running this. What did they want? What was the point of this?
Maybe there was none. Maybe it was all just an elaborate form of torture. You sure didn’t know anybody who’d made it out alive.
You snorted softly, shaking your head. No point wondering about it. You had too much to do.
Especially with four more people to feed. That would be a lot.
You blew out a breath. Hopefully these ones would outlive you. You didn’t know if you could handle losing any more people.
“Ma’am?”
You jumped, startled, and looked at Gaz’s sheepish expression. “Yes, Gaz?”
“Want me to take anything in for you?”
You huffed out a little laugh. “Insistent, huh? Yeah, alright, you can take the plates in. I’ll show you where the bedding is once I’m done out here.”
Gaz nodded, picking up the plates, though he didn’t move yet. “You alright?”
You shot him an amused smile. “I should be asking you that.”
He shrugged, looking down. “Big change for you, too,” he murmured, fingers shifting around the plates.
Your smile softened a little. “It is,” you admitted. “But I’m okay. It’s good to have people to talk to again. I’ll make sure to teach you everything you need to know about this place.”
He nodded, searching your gaze for a few moments before he left.
They all opted to bunk down together, which made life easier for you. The house was an open floor plan, so you just pushed some things out of the way, gave them bedding, and left them to it.
You, of course, did last rounds before bed, checking on your three tames, checking the fence, and checking the surrounding area through the slats in the fence. A few pachys, a parasaur, and a stego farther out. Quiet out tonight. Good.
The few crystals you’d left out all day were glowing softly now that night had fallen, so you brought those inside. The glow was soft, diffuse enough that it wouldn’t keep anyone awake (hopefully), but would still provide some illumination.
In case any of them needed it. Or you.
Murmuring a soft good night to them, you grabbed your own bedding and curled up in your favorite corner. It didn’t take long to drop off to sleep.
You were surprised when they woke at sunrise, same as you. You let them take care of themselves, instead pulling water to boil and working on biscuits. They were easy to make and lasted a few days, although you doubted they’d be around that long.
“You said there are supply drops?” Price asked, standing to one side while you worked.
“Mmhm. Not in the same spot, but they come down.”
“If you’re planning to go to any today, I’d like to go with you.”
You straightened after putting the last batch of biscuits in the oven, dusting your hands off. “I’ve got a few questions first. You lot military?”
“Yes.” He crossed his arms over his chest, watching you more closely.
You nodded. “Good. Think you can trust me enough to keep you all out of the worst of the trouble until you learn the ropes?”
His lips twitched. “Do we have a choice?”
“Always.” You frowned at him, disapproving. “You never have to stay here. If you really want to leave and try on your own, I can give you some supplies and advice. You’re not beholden to me, or anything like that.”
He only smiled, apparently pleased. “We’ll follow your lead.”
You blinked, not having expected that. “Uh. Good.” You ignored one of them snickering behind you and took the freshly-boiled water off the flame. “Right, those’ll take a bit. Let me show you the guns.”
That got all of their attention, and they all followed you outside to the weapons cabinet. You opened it with a little flourish, grinning at their expressions.
A few bows and crossbows sat on one side, arrows piled neatly below. Your pistol you picked up, tucking away so they didn’t get any ideas.
Which still left three longneck rifles, another pistol, and one (slightly broken) assault rifle.
“Quite a stash,” Soap murmured, going for one of the rifles.
“They come in some of the supply drops,” you offered, stepping back to give them better access. “And ammo, which is below. The assault rifle is broken, haven’t the foggiest what to do with it.”
“I do.” Ghost picked that one up and stepped away. You let him. Not like he could make it any more broken.
“Please don’t shoot any of them here, you’ll scare the tames, and that will end badly for everyone.” You left them to the guns, going to grab Bessie’s bags again.
“Not a problem,” Price assured you, taking one of the longnecks. Gaz and Soap each had one as well.
You nodded once, making sure both bags were empty and in good condition before you hung them on the side of the paddock. You’d take Bessie with you when you taught them how to hunt here.
You had a feeling at least one of them would be a bit… resistant to eating meat after this.
The biscuits went over well - Gaz ate four in one sitting. You packed up several more in a bag, along with two water skins freshly filled.
“Alright,” you murmured, taking them outside again. “Look for blue smoke, that’s usually what they use for the supply drops. Sometimes green. Once in a great while, yellow.”
“Blue,” Gaz called after only a few seconds, pointing. Towards the beach. Good.
“Green,” Soap called less than a minute later. You sucked your teeth when you saw that one - towards the mountain. Not good.
“Right,” you mumbled, chewing your lip. “We’re going for blue first. We’ll hunt along the way.”
Nobody said a word against your plan, which was frankly miraculous. You got Bessie ready again, whistling for her to follow.
“You tamed her?” Price fell into step next to you at the head of the group.
“Her, yeah.” You smiled. “The other two, no. Watermelon was tamed by the guy before you lot - Jasper. Nice guy. Former marine.” You shrugged.
“And the other?”
“Ripper was tamed by my mentor, Tom. He left her to me, made sure she knew I was friendly.” Your smile was tinted bittersweet at the memory of Tom. You firmly maintained you couldn’t have had a better mentor.
Not like you’d turned out to be.
“How does that work?”
You huffed, shaking your head even as you continued to scan for danger. “That’s at least a week two project, Price. Gotta learn the basics first.”
“Alright.” He seemed amused now. “Tell me more about the supply drops.”
You shot him an amused look. “I take it you’re in charge of the boys.”
“That obvious, eh?” His lips twitched.
“With that tone of voice? Yeah.” You grinned, though. “Supply drops usually have all kinds of things. Clothes, weapons, ammo, medicine, food. Anything that can’t easily be made here, or requires technical skills that can’t easily be learned. Sometimes notes, manuals, things like that.”
“And they drop daily.”
“Usually, yeah. They aren’t in the same spot every day, so they’re not always close enough to grab. We got lucky with this one on the coast, actually. The coast is less dangerous than the mountains.” You paused to take a quick look around, just to be safe, before you continued on. “As long as you don’t go in the ocean, anyway. Practically everything in the ocean wants to kill you.”
Quiet fell for a little while as you all walked. There was still a little bit of light forest between you and the coast, and the supply drop. The forest was usually quiet here, but not always. Fortunately, they seemed to note your caution and followed your lead, all without a word.
You could get used to that.
“I see the drop.” You blew out a slow breath. Once again, through the forest without incident. And still with plenty of time to let them do some hunting. “Alright, let’s see what we’ve got.”
Ghost set up keeping an eye on the surrounding area while you and Gaz pulled the top off the crate.
You whistled at the contents. Small bottles of medicine, bandages, a few splints, another pistol and ammo… And an oiled coat, which you promptly held up to check the size. That would come in handy on rainy days.
“This is a good haul,” you murmured. Coat looked too big for you. Damn. “Alright, let’s load up Bessie, make sure you cushion those medicine bottles.”
They worked easily, efficiently. Even if you did catch Soap side-eyeing Bessie when the trike huffed.
You broke down the crate the rest of the way, tying the pieces together and attaching that to the leather harness. Good.
“Right,” you murmured. “Hunting next, I s’pose.” You blew out a breath, hands on your hips, looking down towards the water. “We’ll start easy.”
“Oi,” Soap started, indignant.
“Easy for me,” you corrected with a little grin. “Come on. I can usually find dodos down this way.” A short whistle for Bessie to follow and you started down the beach, letting the others follow at their own pace.
The beach was usually quiet. At least, here it was. The swamp… much less so. But here? Not a problem.
“There we go,” you murmured, stopping far enough away that the dodos wouldn’t freak out. Not that they did anyway - they were pretty stupid. “Five of ‘em, that’s good. Right, just aim for the heads. They’re not smart and they’re not fast, I’m sure you can get ‘em.”
You stood to the side, letting them figure out how they wanted to do this. You were only a little amused when Price approached it in a very military fashion - he sent Soap and Ghost around to the other side to help pen in the big dumb birds.
Honestly, it didn’t take them any time at all to take down the birds. You whistled lowly. They were efficient.
“Keep this up and you won’t need me,” you joked, patting Bessie’s side.
“Think we still have a few things to learn,” Price said, falling in step next to you as you walked over to the birds.
You hummed acknowledgement before you grabbed the first bird by the feet, dragging it over to Bessie. “Might be a nest around here,” you said, glancing at Gaz. “Mind taking a look?”
Gaz was off with a nod, even as Soap and Ghost walked over to help.
“We’ll take these two back,” you said, attaching the second bird to Bessie’s harness. “The other three we can butcher here.” You shook out the oiled cloth you’d brought with specifically to wrap the meat in, laying it on the sand.
Fortunately, none of them were squeamish. Unfortunately, you only had two knives.
It still took relatively little time for you and Price to get the meat done and wrapped up.
"Found a few eggs," Gaz reported, carefully holding the eggs against his stomach. Three of them. Your mouth watered at the sight.
"Brilliant." You grinned. "Alright, this has worked out quite nicely for us! I can show you some berry patches on the way back."
None of them objected, so you got everything situated in Bessie's bags and started the walk back.
You'd made it most of the way when you heard the little growl. You stopped, hand going to your pistol, and you noted Price doing the same near you.
But the creature that stepped out of the brush was no threat. The hyaenadon growled softly again, gaze focused on you.
"Easy," you soothed, both it and the men. "Easy does it." You released your pistol, taking two steps back to Bessie and cutting off a chunk of meat.
"What are ye doin'?" Soap hissed, confused and a little incredulous.
"No need to panic," you soothed, stepping forward again, still moving slow. You stepped ahead of Price and crouched down. "Here, sweetheart. Here you go." You held out the meat, heart racing.
The hyaenadon crept closer, slow, cautious, a little skittish. It sniffed the meat and then, very delicately, took it from your hand. Its stubby tail wagged and it whined a little, chowing down.
"What is this?" Price asked this time.
"I have been working on taming this darling for weeks," you said, keeping your tone low and gentle. "I think this one is almost ready to come home."
"Ye can't be serious." Soap again, this time aghast.
"Of course I am." You smiled as the hyaenadon licked your hand. "Good job," you murmured. "That's a good pup. How about I bring you more tomorrow, hm?"
The hyaenadon whined again and scampered off back into the woods. You straightened with a satisfied smile.
"What was that?" Ghost finally, voice a low growl.
"Home first," you insisted. "Then I'll explain."